So begins the song from the Little Mermaid, which I just sat through tonight. My daughter's middle school play version, to be specific. And as I sat and listened to the words of that song, I thought about how people people relate to that sentiment.
Obviously, the more commonly known expression is "the grass is greener," but it's the same thing. Why are people so unsatisfied though?
My mom's parents had very few choices. They worked their butts off for everything they had, and when they finally retired, they had completely earned the opportunity to enjoy their freedom. 'They didn't complain, they just did what they needed to do. And then they benefited from the rewards of all of their years of hard work.
Think about life now. We have SO many more choices than my grandparents did. We can live anywhere we want. Go anywhere we want. Do anything we want. If we don't like our jobs, we can start our own businesses. If we don't like our spouse, we can divorce. If we don't like our faces, we can pay to have them changed.
You think with all that those choices, we'd be happy, right? Not always.
I think we are afraid of settling. We have convinced ourselves the "grass is greener." Somehow, we really believe that that which we don't know is better than that which we are familiar with. And we are on an endless quest to pursue this ultimate happiness. I have struggled with this my whole adult life, but with a significant nuance.
I don't believe the grass is greener necessarily. I just believe I want MY grass to be as green as it can possibly be. For example, I don't hit a rough patch at work and then fantasize about taking a role at another company. I think about how to make my company the best it can possibly be. My bar is insanely high for myself. I realize, however, sometimes I just need to live in the moment and realize the whole point of happiness is living in the moment. I'm pretty happy right now. And being happy brings a peace of mind that no never ending quest for a better life could ever bring.
The seaweed will always be greener in some oceans. I am pretty content with my ocean. I will always work to ensure my ocean is the best it can possibly be. And as I get older, I'm finding that living in the moment and optimizing what I have is turning out to be pretty solid strategy.
My grandparents might not have had as many options as I do, but they had a great life. Maybe we all should have been paying attention to have they did it all along.
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